Originally posted January 9, 2019. Happy reading! Thank you to my loving readers for visiting my humble blog! Looking back at the dynamic range of topics in the BirthTouch® blog, that touch on mental health and mindbody therapies, I thought I’d share the most popular blogs of the year. 1. DBT STOP & TIP Skills: Life is worth living even if there is pain The top top spot was claimed by an article about a very, very popular and evidence-based therapy called Dialectical Beha

Another part of the session was spent beginning the re-training of Betty’s nervous system to a calmer state using Somatic Experiencing® (SE). SE® gently reminds the nervous system to function within a more normal window of tolerance once again, so that the dramatic highs and lows are less pronounced. The trauma sessions moved forward, always at the pace where Betty was comfortable. Betty was always the catalyst for her own healing.

Birth trauma is a risk factor for postpartum depression, Help is available! Betty was feeling very down, anxious and disconnected. She had given birth to her third child just twelve weeks ago! Her new baby was a joy. He was beautiful and perfect. And so much work as well! Betty had never missed sleep so much in her life! He was her second baby, her first son. She thought she should feel very happy. But she just felt empty. There was so much work to do, so much laundry

Originally posted January 23, 2018. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a well researched therapy used to treat...

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based therapy widely used in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). EMDR is recommended by multiple international treatment guidelines and is supported by decades of clinical research. Trauma researchers, including Dr. Bessel van der Kolk , have helped expand our understanding of why EMDR is effective — particularly when trauma symptoms are rooted in the nervous system rather than conscious t

Originally posted April 17, 2017. When is it a good time for you to try EMDR? Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a...

Originally posted March 20, 2017. I’m announcing the grand re-opening of my private psychotherapy practice. I’ll be returning to my...

Listening to women’s lived experiences of trauma treatment in the childbearing year. Content note: This article includes descriptions of birth trauma, postpartum depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. A Note on Context Earlier in my clinical career, I wrote a three-part series exploring EMDR and pregnancy. Two of those articles were published in Science & Sensibility , the journal of Lamaze International. This third piece focused on women’s lived experiences with EMDR du

Book Review: In the Shadow of a Badge: A Memoir about Flight 93, a Field of Angels and My Spiritual Homecoming by Lillie Leonardi Post-Traumatic Growth, Spiritual Development and Development of the Self When I saw this book advertised by Hay House, I was instantly attracted. After a quick look at Lillie Leonardi, the author’s, website, I immediately Kindled her book and read it straight through. For me, the transcendent themes of post-traumatic growth, the process of soul